Plant health is strongly influenced by microorganisms living within and near plant tissues. In agroecosystems, crops dynamically experience a diverse array of biotic and abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, diseases, parasitic weeds) causing negative impacts on crop performance and productivity. In this lecture, I will review the complexity of soil and plant-associated microbiomes and explore innovative strategies to manipulate and activate beneficial microbial taxa and functions at the plant-soil interface. A focus will be given to recent research findings that illustrate the role of plant-protective microbiomes in controlling soil-borne diseases and suppressing the germination of one of the most important parasitic weeds Striga impacting the livelihood of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. I will end this lecture by providing a new perspective on strategies to effectively engineer agricultural microbiomes and harness microbial functions to promote sustainability and crop security with implications across diverse agroecosystems.

About the speaker
Francisco Dini-Andreote, Assistant Professor
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
Francisco Dini-Andreote is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Science at the Pennsylvania State University (USA). He obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). His lab conducts research on microbial communities living in soils and in association with plants. His work largely focuses on exploring the diversity and functioning of microbial communities, identifying the ecological and evolutionary processes mediating community assembly, and examining the mechanisms by which microorganisms mitigate plant biotic and abiotic stresses.
Wednesday, 11 September 2024
05:00:00 PM (UTC) - 06:00:00 PM (UTC)
Duration:60 minutes
Categories
Online webinar
Microbiology
Food Testing
dPCR
Microbiome